The Original Soundtrack
The Original Soundtrack is the third studio album by the English art rock band 10cc. It was released in 1975 and peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. The Original Soundtrack includes the singles "Life Is a Minestrone", and "I'm Not in Love", the band's most popular song.
| The Original Soundtrack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 11, 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Studio | Strawberry Studios, Stockport, Cheshire, England | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:46 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | 10cc | |||
| 10cc chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Original Soundtrack | ||||
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The album received good reviews when originally released on LP and cassette by Mercury Records in March 1975. It was ranked number 976 in All-Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd. edition, 2000).[1]
Background
The album was recorded and produced by the band at Strawberry Studios in 1974 with Eric Stewart engineering and mixing. The album was the first to be released by Mercury Records after signing the band for $1 million in February 1975. The catalyst for the deal was the fact the record executives had heard one song – "I'm Not in Love". Eric Stewart recalled:
At that point in time we were still on Jonathan King's label, but struggling. We were absolutely skint, the lot of us, we were really struggling seriously, and Philips Phonogram wanted to do a deal with us. They wanted to buy Jonathan King's contract. I rang them. I said come and have a listen to what we've done, come and have a listen to this track. And they came up and they freaked, and they said, "This is a masterpiece. How much money, what do you want? What sort of a contract do you want? We'll do anything, we'll sign it." On the strength of that one song, we did a five-year deal with them for five albums and they paid us a serious amount of money.[2]
The rest of the album, which was already complete, was released just weeks later.
The album's opening track, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme's "Une Nuit a Paris", is a nine-minute, multi-part "mini-operetta". In English, the title translates as "One Night in Paris" and the suite is divided into three separate parts:
- Part 1 - One Night in Paris
- Part 2 - The Same Night in Paris
- Part 3 - Later That Same Night in Paris
Lyrically the song tells a tale of a British tourist in Paris, France. The locals attempt to con the man into buying items such as a Swiss watch and photographs. Eventually, the man ends up in the red-light district and although he feels ripped off, sleeps with a prostitute. Due to a series of complications, a policeman arrives on the scene and is shot dead.
The album's most famous song, "I'm Not in Love", was built around a simple title by Stewart which asks the many ways the words "I love you" can be said without uttering them.
The artwork was designed by Hipgnosis and illustrated by artist Humphrey Ocean.
Release
The album has been reissued on several occasions with bonus tracks including b-sides and single edits and has been remastered.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Christgau's Record Guide | D+[4] |
The Original Soundtrack was a critical and commercial success reaching No. 3 in the UK[5] and No.15 in the U.S.[6]
Ken Barnes gave the album a rave review in Rolling Stone, commenting, "Musically there's more going on than in ten Yes albums, yet it's generally as accessible as a straight pop band (though less so than the two preceding 10cc LPs)." He particularly praised the album for being ambitious without being excessive or pretentious, and for its lyrical content.[7]
Village Voice critic Robert Christgau panned the album, remarking of the song "I'm Not in Love": "stretching your only decent melody (a non-satirical love song) over six tedious minutes, is that a joke?"[4]
The first single "Life Is a Minestrone" was another UK Top 10 for the band, peaking at No. 7.[5] Their biggest success came with the song that sold the album, "I'm Not in Love", which gave the band their second UK No. 1 in June 1975, staying there for two weeks.[5] The song also provided them with their first major US chart success when the song reached No. 2.[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Une Nuit a Paris" | Stewart, Creme, Gouldman, and Godley | 8:40 | |
| 2. | "I'm Not in Love" | Stewart | 6:08 | |
| 3. | "Blackmail" |
| Stewart, Creme, Gouldman, and Godley | 4:28 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4. | "The Second Sitting for the Last Supper" |
| Stewart | 4:25 |
| 5. | "Brand New Day" |
| Godley and Stewart | 4:04 |
| 6. | "Flying Junk" |
| Stewart | 4:10 |
| 7. | "Life Is a Minestrone" |
| Creme | 4:42 |
| 8. | "The Film of My Love" |
| Gouldman | 5:07 |
Bonus tracks on the 1997 CD edition
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Channel Swimmer" |
| 2:50 |
| 10. | "Good News" |
| 3:48 |
Additional bonus tracks on Japanese edition
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Life Is a Minestrone (Single edit)" |
| Creme | 4:08 |
| 12. | "I'm Not in Love (Single edit)" |
| Stewart | 3:46 |
Personnel
- Eric Stewart – guitars (all but 2), lead vocals (1-6), backing vocals (1, 3-5, 7, 8), keyboards (2-4, 6, 8), percussion (8)
- Lol Creme – keyboards (all tracks), backing vocals (all tracks), percussion (1, 4, 7, 8), lead vocals (1, 3, 7), guitars (4, 6, 7), vibraphone (1), violin (5), autoharp (6), mandolin (8)
- Graham Gouldman – bass guitar (all tracks), backing vocals (all but 8), guitars (all but 5), lead vocals (1, 3, 8), percussion (1), double bass (5), autoharp (6), mandolin (8)
- Kevin Godley – backing vocals (all tracks), percussion (1, 4-8), drums (1, 3, 4, 6, 7), lead vocals (1, 3, 5), synthesizer (2), cello (5)
References
- "Rocklist". Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- "I Write The Songs". Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- Deming, Mark. The Original Soundtrack at AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 15 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- "10 C.C." The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- "10cc Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- Barnes, Ken (19 June 1975). "Album review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008.
- 10CC Hot 100 chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved 13 October 2013.